text (HTML attribute)

Spec
Depr. Version
Yes HTML 2
Browser support (more…)
IE5.5+ FF1+ SA1.3+ OP9.2+ CH2+
Full Full Full Full Full

Syntax

text="color"

Description

The text attribute was used in older browsers to change the default body text. The specified settings would apply to any text, be that a heading, a paragraph, or a block quote (link colors were set using their own attributes, alink, link, and vlink, all of which are now deprecated).

This attribute is also deprecated, so you should avoid using it. Instead, use CSS to set the color of body text. The example shown above would translate to the following CSS: body {background:black;color:lime;}.

Example

The text color is set to lime, contrasting with the black :

<body bgcolor="black" text="lime">
  <p>This, right here, is retro style.</p>
</body>

Value

This attribute takes as its value a recognized color name (for example, "blue" or "red"), or a value specified in hexadecimal notation (such as "#003366"). Note that it’s not possible to use shorthand hexadecimal values in HTML as you can in CSS—for example, you can’t express "#cceeff" as "#cef".

Compatibility

Internet Explorer Firefox Safari Opera Chrome
5.5 6.0 7.0 8.0 1.0 1.5 2.0 3.0 3.5 1.3 2.0 3.1 4.0 9.2 9.5 10.0 2.0
Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full Full

Every browser listed supports this attribute.

Previous / Next page

  1. Previous
  2. Next

User-contributed notes

Add a note

To post a note on this topic, please log in with your SitePoint username and password. If you don't have an account yet, you can create a new account for free.

Related Products